but overall, if you talk to veterans, ed, if you talk to the veterans' organizations. if you look at independent studies it turns out that the v.a. is providing by and large, high quality care to veterans, mostly if a timely way. so we have to improve the v.a. we do not want to dismantle it or privatize it. >> and senator, are you convinced that what unfolded and what happened in phoenix is an isolated incident and it is not a signature of the v.a.? >> it is not isolated.

and most recently operating 2 hundred units for veterans organization. we have about one hundred beds around transitional housing on treasure island and near city college we engaged with the va we've rapidly housed 3 hundred vets and have a legal department of lawyers 5 lawyers that help with coming for the va powerful is the number one reason for homelessness commonality so the issues how to address it income assistance through the pen revision california does a poor job in terms of the veterans in the state of california that receive coming and pen if the federal government. can i have a minute beyond my time >> did he ingress. >> okay. i barrel got into this we do jobs so it's been good for san francisco primarily we the evidence will then show all the private and government resources. >> what's going on because we're on it we're aware of the other issues around vets we've brought a lot of resources to bear for veterans the city has been good we've gotten opportunity like the presidio and treasure island and otis street but not possible woody allen wi

end of quote from the veterans organizations and i agree with that important statement. to address the long waiting periods, the senate legislation says the veterans around the country if you cannot get into a va facility you're going to be able to go to a private doctor, go to a community-based, you can go to a federally qualified health center, dod base or indian health service and that means that veterans will have access in their community to the health care they need. this bill also says to veterans who live 40 miles or more from a va facility that if they choose they have the option of seeking care outside of the va. so, let me just conclude by saying this. we are all aware of the problems within the va and i think we'll hear very valid criticisms of the va today but there's one point to make in closing is if anyone in the room thinks that the va is only health care system in the united states of america that has problems, they would be sorely, sorely mistaken. i don't have to give you the quotes. about 200,000 to 400,000 people dying every single year in hospitals

we have had a number of hearing, we have met with all of the veterans organizations. i think the point right now, bob, is to make sure that we address the very real problems that are facing six and half million veterans who utilize the v.a. system. and what we have got to do to understand that the cost of war is very, very significant. that means that when you send men and women off to war when they come home we have moral responsibility to make sure that all of them get the health care and benefits that they deserve. and that is responsibility of the -- >> schieffer: go ahead. i was i was going to say i agree with you the first priority make sure that these people who need this treatment get this treatment immediately. whose fault was this? was this general shinseki's fault? is it systemic, is it just bunch of people trying to make money? >> here is what i think. i have a lot of respect for general shinseki and his senator mccain just indicated he is an american hero. and in fact in a very difficult bureaucracy he's done a lot of good things. he has transformed -- you

they understand and, you know, i really can't express the grt tude that i have vochlt the veteran organizations can also be an additional resource to help employees that are struggling get back on track. >> we have an open line of communications for our employees. we are here to help an support them along the way. if there are difficulties with the veteran, please feel free to call us, contact us, send them through course and served them out. that's one of our policies. >> and knight solutions has found hiring these men that have served our country faithfully is both good for the country and good for business. >> i always like to ask people, why not? why not hire someone who has given us america the opportunity to do what we do every day? why not the skills they have or skills we learn while serving. this gives you that opportunity to complete the cycle of life for these veterans, these guys who have made a commitment to serve the united states of america where we all live and eat and breathe every day. >> when kevin knight left the army, he put his skills to work starting his own busy as we sa

but overall, if you talk to veterans, ed, if you talk to the veterans' organizations. you look at independent studies it turns out that the v.a. is providing by and large, high quality care to veterans, mostly if a timely way. so we have to improve the v.a. we do not want to dismantle it or privatize it. >> and senator, are you convinced that what unfolded and what happened in phoenix is an isolated incident and it is not a signature of the v.a.? >> it is not isolated. what happened in phoenix was terrible. there may be other facilities where similar types of activities took place. but bottom line, today, ed, over 200,000 veterans walked that v.a. facilities all across the country, most of them got good quality health care. and most of them got it in a timely manner. our job is to go to those parts of the country that do not have enough doctors and do not have enough dentists and do not have enough nurses and provide them the staff they need. because one of the serious problems we have is lack of staffing in parts of the country and a burn jouft rate. we have primary d

past memorial day, richard burr of north carolina put out this open letter ripping america's veterans organizationse doing a terrible job. he said the most recent senate hearing on the v.a. made it clear to him, specifically veterans groups' testimony at the hearing, made it clear to him that veterans groups were more interested in their own livelihoods and washington connections than they were the needs of their own members. wow. their testimony at that hearing must have been really terrible to earn a rebuke like that from a senator on memorial day from a senator who isn't even a veteran himself, right? here is that testimony. look at how upset richard burr was at that hearing when he sat there listening to that testimony. look at how -- wait, look how upset his chair is. senator burr -- now it's possible he was in his chair but slumped to the floor so you couldn't see him, but actually, cameras in the hearing room -- look, this moment when he got up and walked out as soon as the veterans groups began their testimony. richard burr got up and left as soon as the veterans groups began talking and he

they feel like, hey -- >> kevin starts with calls out to local veteran officers. the organizations help connect knight solutions with people in their networks that may be a good fit. those candidates are then interviewed and some are chosen for the job. >> once they come back home, you know, they're looking not for a hand out, but a hand up. they're looking for someone that's an employer that will understand, you know, i've served my country and now i'm here to try to serve my family. >> kevin's own experience has made him particularly skilled at working with other veterans. >> you're dealing with guys who have seen things that you could never even imagine. they've seen things that may come back to them at any time. >> kevin says that if you offer veterans clear access to the help they need and prepare your management staff to handle these unique situations, these risks are no more than when you add any other new hire to the team. >> you have to be able to have your manager who's on staff, who's equipped to deal with those type of situations. you have to be compassionate. you also

end of quote from the veterans organizations and i agree with that important statement. to address the long waiting periods, the senate legislation says the veterans around the country if you cannot get into a va facility you're going to be able to go to a private doctor, go to a community-based, you can go to a federally qualified health center, dod base or indian health service and that means that veterans will have access in their community to the health care they need. this bill also says to veterans who live 40 miles or more from a va facility that if they choose they have the option of seeking care outside of the va. so, let me just conclude by saying this. we are all aware of the problems within the va and i think we'll hear very valid criticisms of the va today but there's one point to make in closing is if anyone in the room thinks that the va is only health care system in the united states of america that has problems, they would be sorely, sorely mistaken. i don't have to give you the quotes. about 200,000 to 400,000 people dying every single year in hospitals

end of quote from the veterans organizations and i agree with that important statement. to address the long waiting periods, the senate legislation says the veterans around the country if you cannot get into a va facility you're going to be able to go to a private doctor, go to a community-based, you can go to a federally qualified health center, dod base or indian health service and that means that veterans will have access in their community to the health care they need. this bill also says to veterans who live 40 miles or more from a va facility that if they choose they have the option of seeking care outside of the va. so, let me just conclude by saying this. we are all aware of the problems within the va and i think we'll hear very valid criticisms of the va today but there's one point to make in closing is if anyone in the room thinks that the va is only health care system in the united states of america that has problems, they would be sorely, sorely mistaken. i don't have to give you the quotes. about 200,000 to 400,000 people dying every single year in hospitals

it is the true of virtually all of the major veterans organizations and a number of independent studiesthat have compared v.a. health care with that in the private sector. we owe it to these veterans, to our veterans, to fix the current problems and bolster the system to ensure that quality care is available in the v.a. for years and decades to come. now, i have heard a lot of criticism of the v.a., and much of that criticism is valid. but when we talk about v.a. health care, we must put it in the context of health care in the united states of america. does anyone seriously believe that the v.a. is the only health care institution in america that has problems? it is absolutely the case that not everybody outside of the v.a. gets timely quality affordable health care. that's not just the reality. today some 40 million americans have no health insurance, and accordingly a harvard study of a few years ago, 45,000 americans die each year because they don't get to the doctor when they should. that is outside of the v.a. but it is more than that. let me just read you a few headlines from the

veterans coming home. we are trying to partner with organizations for veterans and military families and some other organizations that do data well. you know, we are a bunch of marine sergeant at team rubicon. we don't understand numbers and statistics that are really smart people out there who do. we want to continue to make a case. >> i just want to say, i've been in the fortunate position not only is disney my parent company which has made what i call -- has made a real commitment to veterans, not only in hiring veterans, but as abc television has made a commitment to us covering veterans issues which for me is fantastic. but i'm also involved in the bob woodruff foundation. as many of you probably know or remember my colleague, bob woodruff was terribly injured in iraq in 2006, and he and his wife have devoted their lives to helping veterans, but one of the things the woodruff foundation does is exactly what you're talking about, we've worked with you as well, it's trying to find where first of august to raise the money, and anne-marie has helped us do that, but also to do due diligence on who to give it to

we come together every month to talk about the issues of our service and veteran organizations that support them. you mentioned a couple things i have a question. he talked about research and the economy. increasing the funding for research, the gap and prescriptions and after care. all that goes back to coverage for veterans. tri-care is one of the most -- i am sorry -- pathetic of around.s i have providers that call us and say we can no longer be in your network because you do not pay anything. we can no longer see your pay lessbecause you than medicare pays. that is embarrassing. what are we doing -- before we talk about increasing funding for research or prescriptions. if we do not have doctors who will see them how can they get prescriptions? how can we talk about research? what are we doing to say we need to provide better medical care, better dental, better vision -- all around health care for our veterans. i am talking about -- >> let me take that question. sorry, general chiarelli, you are going to get this one. one of the issues with tri-care is the payment rate. we are trying to

the american legion exists to be a veterans serving veterans organization. and we can best do that when we bridge the gap between our veterans and service members and the services provide by dod and the va. thank you for inclusion in the stakeholders. we're happy to answer any questions. >> thank you. and we recognize mr. vrn erelli. >> thank you. good afternoon. we appreciate the opportunity to testify today at this hearing to examine more closely the ida's program and other aspect affecting active duty service members. while my remarks will address three issues we find particularly important, first, time frames and benchmarks established within the ides program. the program was constructed with the expectation of service members reaching finality within 255 days and will highlight several critical points. prosed rating decisions by locations are redwishd issued within 15 days of receiving notification that a service member has been deemed unfit for duty. officers in the field report delays and in some areas ranging anywhere from three to six months. once se

veterans service organizations such as american legion bring experience to the claims process and ourcritical stakeholders who can help the government meet the obligation to the veteran. the va has recognized this on the civilian side of the dividing line of service, and through the programs like the fully developed claims initiative capitalized on the partnership to improve the claims process and help veterans get the disability benefits they earned through their sacrifice in a more timely fashion. in my current position as medical board and fiscal board representative, i have the privilege of assisting service members who might not be able to continue their military career due to a medical condition. these individuals represent some of the most at risk transitioning service members due to the current medical needs. while the current improvised disability system known as ides, the joint program by dod and va, is an improvement over the reeves system of doing medical evaluations, we can always make it better. american legion maintains a national staff at the benefits delivery discharg

medical center from 1981 to 1996, he earned the respect and honor of many veteran service organizations his tireless efforts to support the mental health needs of arizona service members and their families made a huge difference to many veterans. dr. mckinley was a groundbreaker. he established a 24-hour information center, teams of support groups and responsible for establishing a veterans' mental healed and rehabilitation center. for his exceptional commitment to his community, he received the military order of the purple heart. he was made a charter member of the chapter 9 of vietnam members of america who cited his efforts -- their efforts on his behalf. he was an avid jouts doorsman, capturing the beauty he experiences, hiking, canoing on camera. an avid reader of history, he also volunteered for the project at tory the library of congress. in 1997 to 1998 he volunteered at the national vietnam wall in washington. while dr. mckinley is no longer with us, his long-standing commitment to our nation's heroes lives on. he's a strong candidate for the naming of the veterans' center in p

i also offer that apology to members of congress who have supported me, to veteran service organizations who have been my partners for five years, and to the american people. all of them deserve better from their v.a. i also know that leadership and integrity problems can and must be fixed. [applause] i'm just announcing and taking the following actions. i've initiated the process for the removal of the senior leaders at the phoenix v.a. medical center. [applause] we will use all authority at our disposal to enforce accountability among senior leaders found to have instigated, tolerated irresponsible scheduling practices at v.a. health care facilities. i have directed that no vha senior executive will receive any type of performance award for 2014. i have directed the patient wait times be deleted from vha employees' evaluation reports as a measure of their success. [applause] we are contacting each of the 1700 veterans in phoenix waiting for appointments to bring them the care they need and deserve, and we will continue to accelerate access to care for veterans nationwide, both in and o

in a letter sent on june 17th which was signed by virtually every major veterans' organization from the american legion, vfw, paralyzed veterans of america, vietnam vets, all groups, this is what they said, protect and preserve the va health care system. any it legislative regulatory or administrative changes designed to respond to the va health access crisis with a temporary or permanent must protect, preserve, and strengthen the va health care system so that it remains capable of providing a full continuum of high-quality, timely health care were all in all the veterans. the letter continues, unless the legislation simultaneously sets va on a path to intelligently health care delivery expanding access and capacity and resources to ensure overall funding matches the current problems to fund the va and veterans will inevitably occur from the veterans organizations, and i agree with that important statement. in order to address the long waiting time the senate legislation says the veterans threat the country, if you cannot get into a va facility, you will be able to go to a private docto

organization and takes care of widows the health administration which is the hospital and then the veterans organization is messed up and have been for a long time but they are getting better. they had a huge backlog of 300,000 cases? over 125-- that is the target with 350,000 cases that were well beyond that my case took 400 days from the time i filed and they called me, 365 days until they called me to come in then a couple months later they made adjudication it has spent cut in half but some hospitals are better than others the joke is if you have seen one v.a. you have a seed one. this stuff going on is limited to that hospital i have received excellent health care i used education benefits to go back to your graduate school so that part worked for me. and where the supervisor is laughing at me. not health care but to adjudication that is getting better but v.a. has opened an office or complementary alternative care looking at right teeing as they're paid. i hope they call. we're looking at the department of defense at walter reed teaching writing that we're not therapist we are writers but they're

chose the occasion of memorial day to launch a broadside open letter attack on america's veterans' organizationsl day was a peak for people talking about veterans. the second most popular day was friday, which is also the day that the search term shinseki peaked because friday was the day that eric shinseki, the head of the va, he resigned because of the scandal. and then after eric shinseki resigns, with the, kersplat. look at the end of the timeline. interest dropped in everything. veterans, veterans' health, shinseki. maybe you can just chalk that up to the weekend maybe. well, look at today. today was monday. interest went up a little bit. but not really by much. and nothing in comparison to where it was. are we going back to the old normal of not really talking about this problem? because the problem isn't fixed. eric shinseki is gone now. he resigned on friday. but the problem that everyone was so upset by is not fixed by him leaving. that problem is still just as there today as it was last week. now that the va secretary is gone, are the political gods satisfied with that human sacrifice

reporter: with reports that vets waited months to see doctors and some died while waiting, veterans organizations want va heads to roll. >> there's a lot of bad blood there between the va and the vets that it's supposed to serve, and you know there's a lot of bureaucratic mess he has to come in and clean up. some strong signals he'll get in there and start cleaning up that mess. >> reporter: on capitol hill lawmakers welcomed the nomination even when they aimed criticism at obama. mitch mcconnell said the failures under the president's watch should never have been allowed. the announcement comes just a couple of days after a report to mr. obama from his deputy chief of staff that the veterans health administration needs totally restructured, that its leadership is unresponsive, morale is low and scheduling technology outdated. >> it's a report that singled out a lot of significant problems. there are also a wide range of reforms that were proposed. >> reporter: reforms, the ability to fire incompetent managers morp easily which may require action by congress since government workers are more diff

an open engagement from partners, a veteran service organizations were not mentioned enough today, but they are our partners. talk and listen with them. they have good ideas about how to get back to basics, not to listen to veterans to what they want, what they're telling a spirit at work with members. some of those things, when we listen and worker when we started measuring wait times there were too long. i don't have a big idea, sir. our idea is back to basics. can be a great system. as phenomenal employees who are mission-driven. our idea is to get back to basics to deliver veterans care in their system. >> mr. griffin, is that possible as it currently stands with the leaders and structure that are there, in your opinion? >> in my opinion it will take a fair amount of time. it will not happen overnight. there are number of different areas that need to be addressed. when you are talking about timely quality care one of those is performance standards. i heard dr. road tar previously about people who dg i work in the private sector. maybe a are at hmo and know every day i have to do x

overall talking to veterans in vermont, inou fact throughout ts country, talking to the veterans service organizations, who represent their interests, and reading independent studies they all confirm that by and large once veterans get into the vath health caree system the system s in fact quite good. however, it has become clear and i think all of us are aware of what has happened in the last month, it has become clear that while quality is generally good there are too many veterans throughout this country waiting too long to access this care. in recent years, va has seen a huge increase in its patient load. in factlo in the last four years two million new veterans have come into the system, many of them with very complicateder health care cases including t by, post-tramatic stress disorder and many of the needs that older veterans and older people generally have. despite this fact it is still absolutely unacceptable that some veterans are forced on to long waiting lists for care. and it is totally intolerable, it is reprehensible that any va employee could be manipulating data in phoenix or any plac

i ask we have a panel of vet vans and veterans service organizations if we are talking about veteran-centered care, we need to hear from them. and add to mr. mcclain's excellent suggestion of having a management organization identified structural and organizational weaknesses and complement that with the veterans and what they are missing in their care right now. i think one of the issues that has to be included in that review is the issue of accountability. we've talked about and described our frustrations with the amount of money that's been authorized and appropriated. virtually lost within that system and not making its way to those veterans. i think that really is an issue of accountability. we see it throughout the performance of the va. an issue i would like to get your thoughts on, and i really loved ms. titus' idea about getting more residencies in rural or hard to serve communities like ours. is this a question of where we are going to get the doctors in the capacity we need? already in el paso, which as my colleague mentioned is about a ten-hour round trip drive from the nearest vh

of the aisle have cosponsored this legislation and that it has gained the support of veterans' service organizations, organizations like the v.f.w., d.a.v., the american legion, military officers' associations of america, and the ausn. senator casey and i recognize that the claims process is complex. there's no easy answer, there's no silver bullet that is going to solve this particular problem, but the v.a.'s current efforts will not eliminate this backlog. so just as we worked to address the issues at the v.h.a., i encourage my colleagues to address -- to work together to address some of these same issues at the v.b.a. i was pleased to see the senate committee on veterans' affairs try to move forward with examining our proposal just last week. while i understand that the committee had to cancel this hearing, i encourage the chairman of the committee to reschedule this hearing. our proposal can no longer afford to wait in the backlog of bills to be considered by this chamber. practical, targeted solutions are needed to address inefficiencies that are keeping veterans from receiving timely decisions

we introduce this bill with the strong support of veterans' organizations, the american legion, the veterans of foreign wars, the vietnam veterans of america. the resolution promotes special awareness of our post-9/11 veterans. it encourages communities in the united states to plan activities for veterans day 2014 with a special focus on hon experg -- d supporting those who've served during this time. mr. president, i imagine as mayor, you had veterans day commemorations in newark. as governor, we had them in virginia. and communities all over the country are right now planning what they'll do on november 11, 2014. this provides our citizens with a formal opportunity to present a unified recognition all across this country at a designated moment of the sacrifices made by our greatest generation. now, mr. president, this resolution is not all we must do for our post-9/11 veterans. we owe them a better v.a. system. we owe them a job market that understands and values their skills. and with so many of our colleagues, we'll keep working on those issues. and, mr. president, this resolution doesn'

when i look at this issue, the veterans service organizations rough looking at this in a new way, alternatives are a good thing. the vrntses -- ernst veterans should have the best health care in the best location for them at what is the best way that taxpayers can provide it. the v.a. fangly -- the veterans administration should be the best at some things. they should be better than anybody else at dealing with i.e.d. kinds of accidents, with eye accidents, with the loss of limbs and other things that have happened that happen to veterans in unfortunate numbers because of the kind of conflicts we've been involved in. nobody should be better at that than the v.a. the v.a. may be the absolute best place to go for that kind of injury. posttraumatic stress. our veterans have problems because of conflicts they've been in, but they have problems because, you know, the national institutes of health says one out of four adult americans has a diagnoseable mental health problem. as i've asked the secretary -- the surgeon general of the army and the other forces about this, do you think that's reflected

to the system, the health care itself they are receiving has gotten high marks from our veteran service organizations and the veterans themselves. it's important to keep in mind that what the review indicates so far is that there have been great strides made in the actual care provided to veterans. the challenge is getting veterans into the door, particularly for their first appointment, in some cases, where they don't have an established relationship with a doctor and are not in the system. part of that will be technology, part of that is management. as ric shinseki himself indicated, there is a need for a change in culture within the vha, and perhaps the vha as a whole that makes sure that bad -- the v.a. as a whole that makes sure that bad news gets surfaced quickly so that things can be fixed. i know that was the attitude of secretary shinseki, and that's what he communicated to folks under him, but they did not execute. chrissy parsons, last question. >> you said it was a general judgment that made the decision for you. if i remember correctly, secretary sebelius offered her resignation after he

the veterans service organization, the department, this committee, the senate and the white house. and mr. chairman, i want to thank you once again for your robust advocacy for our veterans and holding all these hearings that we're having for the oversight and it's my hope that when the committee asks for information from the department of veterans affairs that they provide that information in a timely manner so we will not have to issue subpoenas that we need. that's our responsibility and expect the department to help us do our oversight hearing as well so with that, mr. chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. >> i thank you very much for your comments this evening. i would ask that all members would waive their opening statements as customary in the committee and would invite the witnesses to please come to the witness table and as you're coming forward i will introduce you. tonight we'll hear in dr. debra draper, director of health care for the government accountability office, mr. phillip mikovsky for operations of the department of veterans affair, richard griffin, acti

it is the view of virtually all of the major veterans' organizations and independent studies that compare v.a. health care with care in the private sector. in the state of vermont, some 98% of veterans get appointments into the system within 30 days. that is good, but it needs to be better in vermont and throughout this country. the goal must be the highest quality care possible in getting people their appointments in a timely manner. and let me just read, interestingly enough, madam president, a poll that just came out from gallup today. it was published today. it was sponsored by -- commissioned by market watch from the "wall street journal." and the interesting paragraph here, they polled some 42,000-plus americans regarding how they feel the satisfaction with health care in america, and let me quote what the article says -- quote -- "despite recent troubles with veterans not having access to prompt medical appointments, current and former military personnel are the most satisfied with their health care as 77% express contentment. that was the highest satisfaction rate among those brok

and veterans of america have publicly supported this bill, and we hope there will be more veterans organizations before we mark this bill up. thank you. tom? did not ever serve in the military, but like many of you i have the benefits of living in a great country because people put on that uniform and serve for me. to me it would seem that if you are a combat veteran of this country, you ought to be the first in line, not the last in line. your access ought to be guaranteed, not for nominal care, but for the best care. what we have right now is a system that is not working. to give an live up to the commitments -- to equal the commitments that our veterans have given us. this bill is a focused new -- is a focused bill. it is about maintaining the v.a. and making it better, but it is also about honoring the sacrifice of the veterans that have served this country. when they have a need, get it addressed. not to have to wait, not to be a haveulated number, but to access to the care that not only they need, but that they deserve more than any of us, any of us. i am proud of the work that we have don

the veterans service organization, the department, this committee, the senate, and the white house. mr. chairman, i want to thank you once again for your robust advocacy for our veterans in holding all these hearings we are having for the oversight and it is my hope that when the committee asks for information from the department of veterans affairs that they provide that information in a timely manner so that we will not have to issue a subpoena to get the information we need so we can do our oversight hearings. that is our responsibility that we expect the department to help us do our oversight hearing as well. i yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you very much for your comments this evening. i would ask that all members would waive their opening statements is customary in the committee. i would invite the witnesses to please come to the witness table and as you are coming forward, i will introduce you. we will hear from dr. debra draper, record health care for the government accountability office. koski, richard griffin, acting inspector general of the department of veter

it can be overwhelming for newly returned veterans looking for help. while these organizations have good intentions, isis act some deliver better results than others. the bush attitude is undertaking a project to help measure their effectiveness. data likeok at numbers of veterans served and quality and consistency of outcomes produced. we will conduct case studies on some of the leading most effective organizations. to pit one group against another. our goal is to prove effectiveness. our goal is to help our vets. ofwe will share measures effectiveness and create a roadmap as an assessment tool. this is so that all organizations can hold themselves to higher standards and be able to match good intentions with good results. we will laugh this tool next fall at our next military service initiative summit. the goal of military service initiative is to empower veterans to make a smooth and successful transition to spacex us the light. we will do that by spreading civil-tion to reduce the military divide and opening new opportunities for employment and by helping service organizati

members of congress, veteran services organizations, our employees and the american people. >> and john, a number of interim steps are being taken in the short term, to look at the problems, try do something about the problems at the va, everyone here at the va expects this is going to be a long time to really fix what's wrong there. additional staff is being hired both medical and administrative. suspending performance awards which again turned out to be an incentive for people to cook the books. reach out to individuals who had been on the wait list who were unable to see the doctors starting at 1700 at the phoenix facility. making sure their medical needs are taken care of and what's got to be done in the short term is finding another va secretary, after eric shinseki offered his resignation. toby cosgrove withdrew his name from nomination. john. >> mike viqueria reporting from washington. >>> prisoner swap to free bowe bergdahl. the obama administration has come under pressure to justify the controversial deal. randall pinkston reports from capitol hill. >> the administration presen

members of congress, veteran service organizations, our employees, and the american people. >> many peoplehn are convinced that the entire management structure has to be ripped out by the roots. john? >> you mentioned one way to try to fix it. are there any other ways to stop all of these wait times and get veterans the care they need. >> a lot addressed is the urgent need. they have gone to the 1700 in the phoenix facility. approached each of them individually. they are talk about hiring additional staff. they have suspended some performance awards -- some bonuses that were seen as a reverse incentive for people to try to fudge the numbers to make things look better than they were. they have reached out to those individuals, and promised some new and better accounting and of course the systemic problems, the archaic computer system that made the appointments, and the search goes on for a new va secretary. toby cross grove from the va clinic was discussed. he unilaterally withdrew his name over the weekend. so the search goes on. >> the job gets bigger every day. mike thanks very much. >>>

together they create shape of imaginational vietnam veteran memorial. the organization was doing this 29 years to honor those that died for our flag. >> beautiful day for flag day tomorrow and father's day on sunday. >> it makes all the rain this workweek worth it! >> it's moving out. almost worth it. it will be pretty nice weekend. stormtracker 6 double scan showing we have not cleared out completely but most of the rain moved out. i want to zoom into what's going on in delaware. and there is batch of rain moving out of maryland right now. moving towards middletown. smyrna. newark, delaware, wilmington. you'll get rain within the next 15 minutes no. lightning strikes associated with that f it holds together it will move to saleen county adds well. >> the action cam earlier this evening looking up at city hall and william penn and lots of clouds upstairs they'll be clearing out in the overnight hours. temperatures now still warm and muggy. philadelphia, 71. the high today 86. before we have the showers and thunderstorms, trenton 70. millville 7 0. allentown 66 and wilmi

your veterans administration was an organized criminal enterprise where veterans because of intentional wrongdoing on the part of the v.a. employees, were left to die. that intentional wrongdoing premised on the oldest of motives. greed. this corruption and your intentional refusal to right this tragedy has brought disgrace on our nation and should be an impeachable offense. 40 deaths in one hospital in one city alone is too much. you say everything is a trumped up scandal. benghazi, the irs, the a.p., wiretapping, the secret service, mr. president, we are weary of your faked outrage and your claim that bad news just doesn't get to you. mr. president, why don't you just admit that this job is too much for a community organizer. try saying this was trumped up by your political rivals. and that's my open. coming up, a whistle blower. and vote in tonight's insta-poll. should veterans be allowed to get health care at private hospitals. >>> with me now, dr. katherine mitchell. she is a whistle blower who tried to expose this scandal but was repry imagined and was put on administrative leave

military service they're in and it continues on for the rest of their lives, which is why veterans service organizations, the american legion, the vfw, the marine corps league, the disabled veterans have millions of members because we do look after our own. and my hope is you're going to see a veterans administration that -- just think how difficult this would be for the administration. from now on, every person hired by the va must be a veteran. think about how things might change at that point. number two, how about if you started giving out, just like i've got a military i.d. card that says i'm a retired marine, how about you gave out to every veteran, let's say a red card if you're 100% disabled, a white card if you're 50% and a blue card if you're 25 and had service-connected disabilities. you could go to any medical facility in america, any doctor in this country, any physician's assistant and get the kind of medical care that you need without having to wait in line for the va bureaucracy. all they would do is pay the bill. novel idea? and yet it's been impossible to get that through the congress

i ask we have a panel of vet vans and veterans service organizations if we are talking about veteran-centered care, we need to hear from them. and add to mr. mcclain's excellent suggestion of having a management organization identified structural and organizational weaknesses and complement that with the veterans and what they are missing in their care right now. i think one of the issues that has to be included in that review is the issue of accountability. we've talked about and described our frustrations with the amount of money that's been authorized and appropriated. virtually lost within that system and not making its way to those veterans. i think that really is an issue of accountability. we see it throughout the performance of the va. an issue i would like to get your thoughts on, and i really loved ms. titus' idea about getting more residencies in rural or hard to serve communities like ours. is this a question of where we are going to get the doctors in the capacity we need? already in el paso, which as my colleague mentioned is about a ten-hour round trip drive from the nearest vh

those are concerns that the veteran service organizations have repeatedly over time expressed to us. by and large the complaint about the veterans administration is not about the health care, it's about the access to it. and the quantity of -- the number of people that have access. that's a very big problem. so temporarily we should be able to meet some of the needs, but not all because many of the diagnoses that are battle related need to be treated where that expertise is, and that's within the veterans administration health, the health care that they administer. we have a cold, appendectomy, perhaps a federally qualified health center can meet their needs, but we have to be careful about some diagnoses that would -- many decisions, primary care decisions would not be able to make that relate to battle related -- we were told that some of our meetings with the vets they have told us that there's some afflictions, for lack of a better word, that spring from the vietnam war. that you really have to have a trained eye to see symptoms that have occurred many years later and require peri

veterans a high priority. private citizens have also played an important role in supporting our vets, service organizations to nts who have redesigned their curriculum for returning warriors, the employers have taken a chance on a that looking to learn a new trade. as a world war ii generation demonstrates, veterans tend to take the skills and values they learned in the military and use them and doing constructive ways when they come home. veterans have been some of the country's most successful leaders. many in public service, some in the oval office, including an 18 year-old kid who joined the military and he was 18, 41. unfortunately, -- [applause] unfortunate not every generation of veterans has enjoyed a warm welcome home. baby boomers remember what i am about to say here went americans in uniform returned from vietnam, many were shouted at and spit upon and were called names and they were shunned. no matter what you may think about that war, the treatment of our veterans then was shameful and wrong, and it should never be repeated. over the next five years more than a million american will complete their

this is so politically radioactive in congressional districts, the veterans are incredibly well organized and popular, there is no counter lobby to veterans in the united states which is why we let the v.a. get so bloated there was no one out there who wanted to take on the political task of angering the veterans lobby. usually there a lobby to counterbalance, and in this case there wasn't. because congress wanted more pound of flesh and we have elections coming up, it will stay in the news longer. >> two things are going on: first, the commission. the important business of government and getting it right will be buried late in the broadcast and multiple clicks down the website. some outlets, surely not this, will make this a political scandal and you saw a hint of that with speaker saying i don't care about shinseki i want to know about the president. >> you wrote, interestingly, unlike other stories which we could debate this is not a phony republican hype scandal. >> does it become a scandal of who destroyed papers or didn't rely to this subpoena, that is probably what will happen? >>